sh penalties. The colliding views of the Iranian groups, as well as the republic of virtue, made it hard for Iran to deal with other countries. During this period, Iran's relationship with Iraq became troubled. The war began with a fight for land and oil and as a result of the personalities of the two leaders. Both Hussein, the leader of Iraq, and Khomeini are headstrong. In addition, they dislikedeach other (Orwin 42). All of the circumstances that resulted from the war may have contributed in some measure to the outbreak and continuation of the conflict between Iran and Iraq (Iran-Iraq War 77-78). The situation worsened in September of 1980 when Iraq launched an attack on Iran to take control of the waterway that divided the two countries ("Iranian Revolution" p. 835). During the war, industry suffered. Chemical, steel, and iron plants in the war zone were heavily shelled. There have beenshortages in electricity, fuel, and spare parts. The available pool of workers has diminished as thousands of men marched off to the front lines to fight. This caused great economic problems throughout the mid-1980's. Iraq attempted to devastate oil economy even further. Tankers and ships 50 miles off the oil terminal were struck. Iran would be deprived of a major source of income (Orwin 41). By 1984 it was reported that there were one million refuges in the Iranian province of Khuzestan. Some 300,000 Iranian soldiers and 250,000 Iraqi troops had been killed, or wounded. Among the injured were Iranian soldiers who sustained burns, blisters, and lung damage from Iraqi chemical weapons (Orwin 47). The war lasted about 8 years and Iran suffered casualties, not only in people, but in economy and leadership as well. Because of the war with Iraq, and the purges going on in Iran, the economy was severely depressed. Besides the enormoushuman cost, economic losses from the war exceed $200 billion. Agricultural growth has declined as...
